Tribute paid to trumpeter and flugelhornist Fezile 'Feya' Faku

TimesLIVE

9 hours ago

Feya started playing music informally at a young age and got help from local musicians such as flugelhorn player George Tyefumani and renowned soul jazz artists Tete Mbambisa (piano), Duku Makasi (tenor saxophone), Pych 'Big T' Ntsele (bass), Mafufu Jama (drums), Whitey Kulman (alto saxophone), Vuyiswa Ngcwangu (vocals) and Dudley Tito.
In 1988 Feya enrolled at the University of Natal to study music with financial assistance from NADEL (National Association of Democratic Lawyers) and under the guidance of acclaimed musician Darius Brubeck. He graduated in 1992 with a university diploma in jazz studies. It was in Durban that Fezile's career as a jazz artist began to blossom as he and his fellow musicians backed and accompanied the cream of South African music including Mankunku Ngozi, Thandie Klassen, Pat Matshikiza and Barney Rachabane.
His debut was with the Durban-based group Counter Culture led by US saxophonist Chris Merz. Feya travelled, performed and recorded extensively in South Africa and abroad with the likes of Abdullah Ibrahim, Bheki Mseleku, Mankunku Ngozi, including the Netherlands with the saxophonist Paul van Kemenade and his quintet. In Switzerland, he performed with the Swiss South African Quintet which he led with exiled drummer Makaya Ntshoko who left South Africa in 1962, the year Feya was born.
He worked in Eastern and Western Europe, North and South America, Cuba and Japan and his well-known album Hommage was recorded after being part of a cultural exchange programme in Holland. In 2006, Feya was Artist in Residence at the famous Birds Eye Jazz Club in Basel, Switzerland, working with students from the University of Basel and other local musicians.